TD Bank is the Presenting Green Sponsor of the High Line.

GRASS LANDS Guide

The plants of the High Line’s of each plant that makes up this All September, celebrate the Chelsea Chelsea Grasslands reach their peak garden. As part of our Grasslands Grasslands with Friends of the High Line. fullness in the early fall, evoking Celebration, this month we’re also the density and diversity of life on offering special Grasslands-focused Planted from 18th to 20th Streets, the the wild prairie. Taken collectively, tours, a panel featuring High Line they remind us of the wide-open, planting designer Piet Oudolf Grasslands are inspired by the tallgrass uniquely American expanses that (pictured on the cover) and have largely vanished from the other notable experts, and a day of prairie of the American Midwest. country’s landscape. family-focused activities highlighting the prairie. We invite visitors to take a closer look at the Chelsea Grasslands and learn more about the remarkable beauty, history, and adaptations Raydon’s Favorite How to design a grassland aromatic aster on the High Line Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘Raydon’s Favorite’

Borrowing from the wild prairie, Oudolf Fragrant foliage and abundant blooms make this prairie native designed the Chelsea Grasslands doubly valuable in the garden. A broad profile and densely as a matrix. Grasses form the bulk of massed lavender blooms give it a the plantings with showier perennials, cloud-like appearance in autumn. planted individually and in groups, Shenandoah switch grass scattered throughout. This garden design Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ engages all the senses through sound, motion, color, scent, and texture. In the Along with other grasses, Shenan- doah forms the foundation of the fall, shades of gold and blonde throw the matrix planting. This cultivar’s foliage deepens to burgundy over remaining blooms into high relief. the course of the summer. In fall, the sound and motion of this grass in the wind adds another dimension to the garden.

Sundown coneflower Echinacea ‘Evan Saul’ BIG SKY SUNDOWN™

The cone-shaped seed heads of this prairie native persist for months, adding a striking architectural form to the garden in winter. Selected KEY in part for its bolder colors, the Sundown cultivar has blooms that Plant Type range from orange to pink. herbaceous tree perennial

shrub grass Autumn moorgrass Sesleria autumnalis Light Nativity North full sun American partial native This cool-season European grass greens up early in the shade Northeast native spring, when many of our native full shade grasses are still dormant. As new construction casts shade over the Features garden, autumn moorgrass has attracts drought become more prominent in the wildlife tolerant Chelsea Grasslands. Standing Ovation How plants contribute little bluestem to the health of the Schizachyrium scoparium Chelsea Grasslands ‘Standing Ovation’

Many people don’t realize that the wild This grass has adapted to store energy just below the soil prairie hosts more plant species per 50 surface. In late spring, when the square feet than the rainforest, and that threat of wildfires in the wild have lessened, it converts that grasses can reach heights of 8 feet with energy into new growth. roots stretching 10 feet deep. The prairie Purple prairie clover soil, built up from thousands of years Dalea purpurea of plant debris and held tightly in place by continuous root systems, teems with This perennial is prized in prairie restoration efforts and microscopic life. While the Chelsea on the High Line because, as a nitrogen fixer, it is able to convert Grasslands differs dramatically from atmospheric nitrogen into the form that plants use. It also the wild prairie, many of the plants we attracts a variety of pollinators, cultivate serve important ecological including many bee species. functions in the garden. Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis

This perennial grass—an easily adaptable, so-called opportunistic plant—has a fitting home on the High Line since it is commonly found growing along roadsides KEY and train tracks throughout its native range of central and eastern Plant Type North America. herbaceous tree perennial

shrub grass Leadplant Amorpha canescens Light Nativity North full sun American This common prairie subshrub partial native is sometimes planted to shade Northeast native minimize soil erosion because full shade its root system can extend into the ground as deep as 20 feet. Features Leadplant draws many pollinators attracts drought to the High Line, particularly wildlife tolerant beetles and solitary bees. Rattlesnake master How human history was Eryngium yuccifolium shaped by the grasslands

Shoes and baskets crafted from the fibrous leaves of this plant The American prairie has supported have been found in the Midwest and dated to as far back as 5,500 human life for thousands of years. BC. Another interesting fact: Pioneers, initially taken aback by the the plant gets its name from the false belief that its roots could vastness of this landscape, tried to pass be used to heal rattlesnake bites. through it as quickly as possible. However, Big bluestem realizing the agricultural potential of the Andropogon gerardii rich soil, settlers swiftly transformed the Midwest into farm and grazing lands Pioneers recounted needing to stand on their horses to be that continue to feed much of the country. able to spot their cattle that had wandered off through the 8-foot- Today, farmland has replaced most of the tall big bluestem. Cattle may have been quite happy to be lost in this original prairie, leaving only fragments. grass, which came to be called We hope that the Chelsea Grasslands can “ice cream for cows.” serve as a reminder that we need to find Bur oak a balance between human needs and the Quercus macrocarpa natural environment. While many people envision a prairie landscape as a monotonous sea of grass, it is actually punctuated by groves of trees, KEY like this drought-tolerant North American oak. Historically, oaks Plant Type provided a welcome oasis of shade herbaceous and familiarity to weary travelers. tree perennial

shrub grass Compass plant Silphium laciniatum Light Nativity North full sun American partial native Years ago, compass plant was as characteristic of the prairie as shade Northeast bison. Sadly, as conservationist full shade native Aldo Leopold wrote, “what a thou- sand acres of silphiums looked like Features when they tickled the bellies of attracts drought the buffalo is a question never to wildlife tolerant be answered.” 20TH STREET Find our featured plants in the park

1 Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea

2 Autumn moorgrass Sesleria autumnalis

3 Compass plant 1 Silphium laciniatum

4 Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii

5 Sundown coneflower Echinacea ‘Evan Saul’ BIG SKY SUNDOWN™ 19TH STREET 2 6 Standing Ovation little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium 3 ‘Standing Ovation’ 4 7 Rattlesnake master 5 Eryngium yuccifolium

8 Raydon’s Favorite aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘Raydon’s Favorite’

6 9 Shenandoah switch grass 7 | 8 Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ 10 Leadplant Amorpha canescens 9 11 Bur oak 18TH STREET 10 Quercus macrocarpa 11 12 Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis

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17TH STREET GRASS LANDS EVENTS

ROVING GRASSLANDS MAKE IT! CLASSES Saturday, September 24 Tuesdays in September (except 9/27) 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM 9:00 – 10:00 AM, 6:00 – 7:00 PM On the High Line between 13th FREE, RSVP: thehighline.org/activities and 14th Sts. Weather permitting FREE, children and their caregivers Join us for a tour of the Chelsea Enjoy a whole day of family fun on Grasslands as we celebrate the the High Line! Get your hands dirty unique design, history, and ecology in our mobile garden, create a large- of this garden in its peak season. scale art installation, hear stories from everyone’s favorite librarian, Tuesday, September 6 design custom-made structures Designing a Grassland with the Children’s Workyard Tuesday, September 13 Kit, and watch an outrageous Ecology of a Grassland variety show hosted by Whoop Tuesday, September 20 Dee Doo!This month, for the last The Human Experience of Grasslands program in our Make It! series, we’ll explore the wild side of the

THE GRASSLANDS PANEL: High Line, from its earliest self- Ligon Liz by Photo PRAIRIE IN THE CITY seeded plants to the animals that Monday, September 26 call it home. 6:00 – 7:30 PM FREE, RSVP at thehighline.org/activities MORE FAMILY FUN for location details SUPPORT Discover the intersections of the Visit our website to download garden design, plant ecology, and FREE family guides. Our gardeners keep the High Line cultural history of our Chelsea You can also sign up for monthly thriving with your help Grasslands during a panel featuring family emails with behind-the- three experts in their respective scenes info and creative ideas from thehighline.org/join fields and moderated by Andi Pettis, experts on how to learn as a family. Director of Horticulture at Friends of the High Line. Guest panelists To keep the Chelsea Grasslands and include planting designer Piet the entire landscape of the High Oudolf, On the High Line author Line beautiful all year long, we count Annik La Farge, and Curator of the on members like you. Members Native Flora Garden at Brooklyn provide the tools and resources Botanic Garden Uli Lorimer. our gardeners need right now to prepare the High Line for winter, and to keep the High Line in bloom next spring. Plus, members receive special benefits and access – so you’ll never miss out! Visit thehighline.org/join to join now! LEARN MORE

Visit us at grasslands.thehighline.org and follow @highlinenyc on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

TD Bank is the Presenting Green Sponsor of the High Line.

Public Programs on the High Line are supported by Altman Foundation. These programs are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Major Support for High Line Families comes from Deutsche Bank. This program is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. MetLife Foundation is a Supporting Sponsor of High Line Families.